13/02/2013 - On February 28, the European Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers will start working on a regulations text

Following the Council of Europe’s budget meetings for 2014-20, which took place last February 7-8, the budget section dedicated to Creative Europe (image 3) will be cut by around €2.4 billion compared to the 18 extra proposed by the European Commission. This has already been approved by the Parliament’s Culture Commission, with a reduction equivalent to 15%.

As European MP Silvia Costa (photo) explained, one needs to consider that the European Commission’s proposal was set to augment the overall budget by 26% compared to the last seven years. The way in which the funds are divided internally will be the object of a debate between the Council and Commission, followed by the Parliament.

President Martin Schulz already anticipated to the Council that the Parliament may be opposed to the 2014-20 budget. The budget has been severely reduced compared to what had been proposed by the Commission, with a reduction in allocated funds happening for the first time in the last seven years. Silvia Costa underlined that this was happening in a dramatic moment of economic and social crisis. The overall commitment now amounts to €959.99 billion, instead of the €1,047 billion proposed by the Commission. A drop compared to the 2007-13 budget which was set at €993.6.

Next February 28 will mark the beginning of the collaborative work cycle between the Parliament, European Commission and Council of Ministers, with the objective of agreeing upon a set of rules for Creative Europe.

(Translated from Italian)